


we fell in love in october

by disaster_queer



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: Based on a girl in red song, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Linh is oblivious and we love her, Linh-centric, Love Confessions, Marella is the only one who knows what she's doing, Pining, Songfic, We fell in love in October, marellinh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:06:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27108451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disaster_queer/pseuds/disaster_queer
Summary: based on the song 'we fell in love in october' by girl in red
Relationships: Marella Redek/Linh Song, Marellinh - Relationship
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	we fell in love in october

**Author's Note:**

> this contains spoilers for Nightfall, by the way. and not a small spoiler, either.

The fire crackled merrily in Marella’s hand, and Linh couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. She shook her head, condensing water out of the air, and formed it into an orb that hovered just above her hand. 

“Ready?” Marella asked with a grin, as if she didn’t already know. Linh nodded, smiling back at her. The smaller girl’s fingers danced, directing the flames to spread across the wooden floors of their training gym, filling the air with the smell of burnt wood. Marella looked so beautiful, silhouetted by the flames running up the wall behind her, the firelight dancing across her face.  _ Stop it, you need to focus _ , she scolded herself.

Linh called on more water, pulling as much as she could from the barrels on the shelves and the air itself. She swept it up into a wave, swirling the water around the building, leaving herself and Marella completely untouched by it in a bubble of air surrounding them. She was keenly aware of how close she was to Marella. If she just moved forward a little, they’d be almost touching… No, she shouldn’t think like that. Linh and Marella were friends, and only that. Her silly crush had gone on long enough as it was. 

Linh distracted herself with thinking about how much better she was at controlling her Hydrokinesis than she used to be. Her time as The Girl of Many Floods wasn’t something she’d soon forget. 

When she was satisfied that all the fire had been extinguished, she released her hold on the water, letting it splash across the floor. The air suddenly felt drier and hotter, and the water began to diminish. When Marella had evaporated all of the water, she turned to Linh.

“I’m done for the day, that was kind of a lot,” Marella said with a shrug. 

“Definitely,” Linh agreed. “Want to come over to my house after practice?” 

“I thought your parents didn’t like it when you had friends over,” Marella recalled.

“Not Choralmere, Tiergan’s place,” Linh clarified. 

“Works for me,” Marella smiled. Linh pulled out her home crystal, and held it up to the light, creating a glittering beam stretching across the floor. She focused her concentration, and let the light whisk her and Marella away. 

When they arrived, they waved hello to Tiergan, who was talking to Wylie on his Imparter, and headed up to Linh’s room. 

“What if we went up to the roof?” Linh suggested. Marella agreed, and she opened the door leading to the balcony on the roof. 

“Ugh, it’s freezing,” Linh grimaced, wrapping her arms around herself to try to block out the chilly wind. Marella unclasped her cape, and draped it around Linh’s shoulders. 

“Better?” she smiled warmly.

“Yeah, thanks. But won’t you be cold?” 

“See for yourself,” Marella said with a laugh, taking Linh’s hand. It was all she could do to keep herself from blushing, the wind roaring in her ears and her heart beating so loud she was almost surprised that Marella couldn’t hear it. That was why it took her a little while to realize that Marella was warm, as if the fire she could call down from the sky ran through her veins instead of blood. She certainly acted like it. 

Linh held on tighter, the heat radiating off Marella like she herself was a roaring fire. Noting Linh’s reaction, Marella put an arm around her shoulders, and Linh leaned against her. 

The sun had begun to set, and the sky was streaked with pink and orange. 

“Wow,” Marella breathed. “Now I understand why you wanted to come up here. The view is beautiful.” 

Linh swallowed. “Just like you.” 

Marella gasped the tiniest bit, and met Linh’s eyes. They were so close now, their faces inches away from each other. Linh leaned in, and Marella made up the remaining distance, and their lips met. After several perfect seconds, Linh pulled away, unable to do anything but smile. Marella was looking at her like she’d just seen the sunrise for the first time. 

“I guess Biana was right,” Marella laughed. “She kept telling me you liked me, but I didn’t think she was serious.” 

Linh’s heart skipped a beat. “So… you do like me?” 

“Linh, I just kissed you.”  
“I- I know, I just needed to hear it,” Linh stammered. 

Marella’s eyes sparkled. “I like you, Linh. I’ve liked you since I really talked to you for the first time, when we were getting ready for Nightfall, remember?” 

“Yeah,” Linh smiled, lost in thought. “Wow, that was almost a year ago.” 

“I know, right? I can’t believe how fast everything goes…” Marella said softly. The sun was over the horizon by this point, and the stars were beginning to peek out. It was almost night. Almost as if reading her mind, Marella snapped her fingers, and a small pile of wood in an indentation on the roof burst into flames, sending light and heat flickering across the rooftop. 

“That was fall too, right?” Linh asked.

“Yeah. It’s my favorite season,” Marella answered.

“Any particular reason why?”

“The leaves are so many different colors, and it’s cold but not too cold, warm but not too warm.”

“You’re right.”

A comfortable silence fell over them, and Linh stared off into the distance. 

“Hey, Linh?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you be my girlfriend?” Out of everything Marella could have said, that wasn’t what Linh was expecting to hear, but it was exactly what she wanted to hear. 

“Absolutely.” 

They sat like that for almost an hour, leaning on each other, and watching the stars. Linh never wanted it to end.


End file.
